English Course Descriptions

English Courses (EN)

100 Basic College Writing This basic course in the process of writing and reading addresses special needs and problems on an individual basis. It is required of all first-year students whose writing inventories indicate the need for special attention. For these students, this course is a prerequisite for EN 101.

101 Thought and Expression I Practice in writing for various academic aims and audiences, this course includes a supervised process of invention strategies, first draft, revised drafts, final editing, and at least one assignment in library research and proper forms of documentation. It encourages peer reviews, small-group problem-solving activities and in-class discussions of interdisciplinary readings. It incorporates special events each semester: e.g., poetry or fiction readings, public lectures, theater performances. It is required of all first-year students. Prerequisite: For some first-year students, EN 100 or EN 103.

103 English for International Students This special program of study is for international students whose mastery of English is not sufficient yet to meet the entrance requirements for EN 101.

104 Writing for the Academic Conversation This is a five-week course designed to introduce Gateway and ACT101 students to the fundamentals of writing at the university level. This course is designed to help students understand and embody the basic habits of a scholarly life of inquiry and to help students find a way to make their unique contribution to the academic conversation. Students write two formal papers, maintain a journal, read and discuss assigned readings, peer review each other’s writing, and represent their growth as readers, writers and thinkers in an end-of-session portfolio. Students also are required to meet with the professor twice for one-on-one conferences on their papers and to partake in twice-weekly, one-hour writing sessions in a computer lab supervised or facilitated by two graduate-level writing consultants. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the summer Gateway program.

107 Human Dilemmas: A Literary Perspective This is an exploration of genres of poetry, short story, drama and film as ways of representing and working through human problems. The course focuses on a core issue, problem, or theme chosen by the instructor. Class discussions include students’ analyses of personal experiences as a means of understanding the thematic focus of the course.

113 Popular Literary Classics This course analyzes modern literary works that were both popular and critical successes, exploring the thematic and rhetorical features that led to their wide appeal and comparing these criteria to those of literary scholars. Texts include American and British works of fiction, autobiography, poetry and drama, as well as pertinent critical essays and book reviews offering insight into the nature of commercial and critical reception of literature. Classes involve discussion of themes, styles, milieu and place in literary history.

115 The Business World in American Literature The course surveys American novels, stories and plays about the world of business. It analyzes the effect of business on a personal sense of success and self-worth.

199 Interpreting Literature (4 credits) This introductory course develops the ability to read and write critically about literature and analyzes the relationship of literary form to thematic and rhetorical function through examination of poetry, drama and prose fiction. It includes some use of research material in the field. It is required of English majors.

200 Critical Reading/Writing Workshop This workshop focuses on composing, analyzing and revising drafts, especially in the peer-review process. It includes readings in the theory and practice of peer-reviewing, motivation and resistance, role-playing and other group activities, and examination of student papers. It is open to all sophomores, juniors and seniors. (Pass or no credit.)

201 Thought and Expression II Taken after EN 101, this course follows the same basic format. Focuses on: interdisciplinary reading and writing assignments with greater emphasis on library research. Required of all students who do not take a Research Writing-designated course in another department. Prerequisite: EN 101.

202 Research Writing for English Majors In this course, students begin to learn how to do discipline-specific research and use that research in different writing tasks designed to foster critical thinking and literary analysis. Prerequisite: EN 101

203 Literacy Tutoring for Adult Learners This is an introduction to methods of literacy tutoring for adult learners, including intensive preparation in methods of tutoring, the nature of cross-cultural communication, and the nature of literacy learning. It includes a service-learning experience providing classroom preparation followed by field experience tutoring adults in the area, with ongoing guidance through seminar discussions.

211 Creative Non-Fiction Workshop This intermediate-level writing course emphasizes the principles, processes and skills that are fundamental to both academic and professional writing, with attention to analysis, argument, exposition and critique. It includes formal instruction in grammar, punctuation and mechanics, with frequent writing assignments plus an independent project.

212 Writing Poetry and Fiction I Practice in poetry and fiction writing skills, this course includes regular submission of written work for peer and instructor critique, with analysis of published poems and short fiction for style, interpretation and techniques in relation to subject and intention.

215 Writing for Careers This intensive study of the writing demands in business, industry and government includes manuals, reports, correspondence, carefully designed visuals, job application letters, resumes and other projects. The course emphasizes writing that is practical, rhetorically and stylistically effective, and authentic. It focuses on the writing process and small-group problem solving. It requires oral presentations.

216 Writing Workshop Practice in writing essays, with attention to individual needs, this course includes frequent assignments in various types of expository prose, ranging from feature articles and persuasive essays to reviews of plays and films. It emphasizes clear, interesting writing and the adjustment of style to subject matter and audience. It provides experience in revising and editing one’s own work in response to peer and instructor commentary. Prerequisite: EN 101.217 Journalism I This introduction to the basic elements of journalism includes newspaper and magazine writing, investigative reporting, editing, layout and the ethics of journalism. It covers all aspects of print journalism. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

218 Business Writing This course offers practical experience in writing for business with rhetorical sophistication, grammatical competence and a strong sense of what is and is not good English prose style. It emphasizes typical business and industrial reports and correspondence. Prerequisite: EN 101.

219 Literary Themes and Forms This intensive study of a selected genre or theme occurs in an informal lecture-discussion format. Possible topics: Humankind’s Relation to Nature, Love through the Ages, the Sonnet, Law and Literature. It may be taken more than once for credit when topics vary.

220 Selected Authors This critical reading of texts by one or more major dramatists, fiction writers, or poets focuses on the stylistic, structural and thematic developments in each writer’s work. It may be taken more than once for credit when topics vary.

222 Lewis & Tolkien This course focuses on the interconnections in the writings of these two popular fantasy authors and their social philosophies. Students will develop literary research skills to support critical literary investigations.

223 Contemporary Short Fiction This course introduces students to a variety of contemporary (written in the last 25 years or so) short stories, with emphasis on the comic, the bizarre and the outrageous. Authors may include Atwood, Marquez, Alexie, Erdrich, Barth, O'Brien, Sontag, Tan, Amis, Gordimer, Kureishi, i Murakami, Galeano, Rushdie and others.

224 Native American Fiction Introducing students to some of the most significant contemporary short stories, novels and poetry by Native American writers since the mid-1960s, this course includes works by Momaday, Silko, Ortiz, Dorris, Alexie, Erdrich and others. Students examine the Native American "experience" in contemporary society.

225 Introduction to Gay and Lesbian Fiction This course is an introduction to gay and lesbian literature from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Authors include Forster, Baldwin and Highsmith among others. Assignments and discussion topics consider the literature and its relationship to and impact upon the history, society and culture of the day. Prerequisites: EN 101

226 Detective Fiction This is a survey of different forms and sub-genres of suspenseful fiction, including texts that range from short, classic mysteries to hardboiled novels to police procedurals. It includes exploration of, among other concepts, justice and law and the difference between the two. Texts from different nations and different historical periods reflect and/or create shifts in cultural, social and literary values. The course includes online discussion boards, short analytical papers and a longer final project that incorporates background research. Prerequisites: EN 101

227 Philadelphia in Literary and Cultural Context This exploration of the rich array of expressions about Philadelphia focuses on diverse writers from different periods, including William Penn, Elizabeth Drinker, Philip Freneau, Edgar Allan Poe, George Lippard, and Frank Webb. Students interpret literary, historical, and cultural texts through interdisciplinary methods, read archival materials about the city, and engage in weekend fieldwork by visiting sites such as the National Constitution Center, the Edgar Allan Poe House, and Eastern State Penitentiary. The course culminates at semester’s end with a researched project that examines some of the area’s metropolitan heritage. Prerequisites: EN 199 or proof of some background in literary or historical analysis for transfer students and other exceptional cases.

229 Voices of America This study of the diverse American literary heritage explores the relationship of the texts to the intellectual, historical and social conditions that produced them. It will likely include readings from 20th and 21st century authors such as Ellison, Morrison, Alexie, Danticat and Cisneros.

230 Survey of African American Literature This intermediate-level course examines black vernacular texts by authors such as Terry, Jacobs, DuBois, Hughes and Shange and considers the impact of history, society and culture on representative works of poetry, narrative, and drama. Prerequisites: EN 101 and 201 (or EN 107).

231 African American Short Story This is a survey of short stories that reflect different historical moments in the African American community as both it and the nation evolved. Beginning with African and African American folk tales, the course includes classic stories by such writers as Charles Chesnutt, Jean Toomer, Zora Neale Hurston, and Richard Wright and also contemporary practitioners such as Edward P. Jones and Alice Walker. Prerequisite: EN 101.

232 Louise Erdrich Critical reading of major novels, short stories, nonfiction, and poetry of Louise Erdrich. Focuses on the stylistic, structural, and thematic developments of Erdrich’s work. Includes written analysis.

233 Shakespeare This study of selected comedies, tragedies, histories and romances by William Shakespeare emphasizes systematic literary and dramatic criticism.

240 Intermediate Fiction Writing This is a workshop designed to immerse students in the practice of writing, revising and workshopping their original fiction works at an intermediate level, further developing their craft skills as writers and enhancing their understanding of the nuances of fiction. Students will read and critique the work of their peers while reading works of short and long fiction and also texts about creative writing. The course will include 1) a semester reading list of two novels, seven to ten short stories, and a significant amount of reading from a creative writing instructional text; 2) at least three workshops with each student's work; 3) at least three fifteen- minute one-on-one conferences with the instructor about their creative work. Course requirements include a minimum of two analytical essays exploring fiction writing as a craft and demonstrating expert understanding of a particular craftelement(s). Prerequisite: Previous workshop experience is highly recommended.

241 Intermediate Poetry Writing The major objective of the course is the development of the student’s own style and voice. Working from suggested prompts, students generate new poems each week, share them with their peers and revise them to as high a standard as the student can reach. The course requires students to learn–or relearn—some of the basic techniques of crafting sound, line, meter, and imagery. Much class time is devoted to guided critique of students’ poems. Readings of master poets such as John Keats, W.B. Yeats, Yusef Komunyakaa, Adrienne Rich, and Tony Hoagland. Prerequisite: Previous workshop experience is highly recommended.

267 Introductory Fiction and Poetry Workshop This course for beginning creative writers is designed to help students develop writing skills over four weeks through online discussions and workshops and also through personal feedback from peers and the instructor during both the weekend on campus and the four weeks of online workshops. Assignments include writing and revising original fiction and poetry, extensive reading of literature and writings on craft and technique, and a final portfolio of the student’s best work.

272 Poetry for Page and Stage One-half writing workshop, one-half performance, this workshop looks at how we can translate our own written work into a stage performance. It begins with a traditional poetry workshop centered on students’ writing. It explores vocal and theatrical techniques to bring the written word to life. Readings include works of O’Hara, Sanchez, Williams, Shange and current performance artists. It ends in a final public performance.

299 Interpreting Literature II An intermediate-level investigation and practice of strategies of interpreting literary texts. Topics include multiple vs. single interpretations; the problem of political and psychological subtexts; and the relation among history, society and the author. Readings are drawn from fiction, poetry, drama and essays on critical theory. Required for English majors. Prerequisite: EN 199 or its equivalent.

311 Writing Center Issues This course helps Arcadia University Writing Center consultants to develop the skills and understanding of Writing Center issues necessary to be effective tutors. Every semester addresses a different theoretical perspective or issue, including writing across the curriculum, effective structures of consultations, the rhetoric of student papers and tutoring, conversation models, research writing, and cultural issues in tutoring. Prerequisite: Students must be employed at the Arcadia University Writing Center as writing consultants.

314 Writing for Magazines The course offers a practical introduction to the consumer magazine industry and aims to equip students with the basic skills and understanding necessary to pursue full-time or freelance careers as magazine writers or editors. Students examine all forms of magazine writing from short front-of-book items to department stories to features, perform critical analyses of individual magazines, learn how to develop story ideas into compelling magazine prose, and write effective query or pitch letters. In addition to an overview of the industry, the course provides an understanding of the basic structure of magazines, the different types of stories that magazines publish, and the economic forces driving magazine publishing today. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

315 Technical Writing This intensive study of technical documents for various careers covers catalogue descriptions, descriptions of mechanisms, instructional and procedural manuals, bids, requests for bids, proposals, reports, memos and letters responding to customer inquiries. It emphasizes preparation of effectively written documents for various audiences and purposes. It presents the integration of graphic and copy elements in well-structured and designed documents. It includes individual and group assignments from a problem-solving approach. It requires portfolios of work in-progress and two spoken presentations. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

316 Writing for the Health Industry An intensive writing workshop offering students an overview of the health-care communications field. Students become familiar with research tools (including online databases), interview techniques, and the integration of graphics to enhance text. They also develop an understanding of audience and an appreciation for the knowledge base of the intended reader. This course covers the writing and editing of peer-reviewed technical journal articles as well as marketing materials, press releases, newsletter articles, feature and advertising copy. Prerequisites: Two writing classes above EN 101-201, or permission of the instructor.

318 Journalism II Learn the set-up of the newsroom; practice the conventions of news and news features, such as profiles and issue-oriented stories. Fieldwork includes coverage of some live events with emphasis on writing the more complex story, with style, color, flair and substance. Prerequisite: EN 217 or another course in journalism, or experience in public relations/advanced writing; or permission of the instructor.

320 Studies in Classical and Medieval Europe This is a selective study and appreciation of texts from Western antiquity and the Middle Ages that remain influential and alive in our own time. These texts are considered within the cultural contexts from which they sprang and to which they helped give definitive shape. Typically, readings are drawn from the plays and epics of ancient Greece; great Roman authors such as Virgil, Augustine, and Boethius: and such medieval works, genres and authors as Beowulf, the Arthurian romances, Dante and Chaucer. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

321 Studies in the European Renaissance and Enlightenment This is a selective study and appreciation of texts from 16th, 17th and 18th century European literature with a focus on the English tradition and a consideration of the historical contexts of the works studied. Readings are drawn from Renaissance essayists and novelists such as More, Montaigne, Bacon and Cervantes; Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatists such as Jonson, Shakespeare and Webster; English lyric poets such as Wyatt, Sidney, Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne and Marvell; major works from later 17th century and Restoration authors such as Milton, Dryden and Congreve; and major figures from the 18th century such as Pope, Swift, Voltaire, Defoe, Fielding and Sterne. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

322 Modern British Literature This is a critical reading of major British works of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries in the context of cultural history. Readings include works by such writers as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, Bronte, Browning, Tennyson, George Eliot, Conrad, Woolf, Beckett and others. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

323 Modern American Literature This is a critical reading of major American works of the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, approaching the texts as products of a specific place and historical experience. Authors include Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Douglass, Twain, Dickinson, James, Faulkner, Frost, Hughes, Baldwin, Miller, Morrison and others. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.327 The Discovery of Adulthood in British and American Fiction This course explores, through novels and short stories, the cognitive, moral, social and psychological complexities of adolescent and early adult experience. It also deals with the literary problems involved in portraying these stages of human development. The aim both of the readings and of the class activities is to enhance awareness of the magnitude of change implied in the term “growing up.” While the overall focus is thematic in nature, the specific day-to-day focus is primarily literary, although there will be some brief side-excursions into related fields, especially that of psychology. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

328 William Faulkner In this intensive study of the work of one of America’s most important fiction writers, readings include five major novels and several short stories. In addition to understanding Faulkner’s extraordinary achievement as an experimental novelist, we look at his presentation of themes such as race, slavery, family and the natural world. This is an advanced course for students with experience in reading and writing literary criticism. Prerequisite: EN199 and 299 or equivalent; intermediate level literature courses. Junior standing or above.

329 Narrative Form in Fiction and Film This is a study of narrative forms and structures in film and fiction. Close reading of texts, reviews and conventional and experimental narrative forms are guided by narrative theory. Opportunities exist for critical and creative responses. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

330 Black Cinema This course examines the cinematic productions of Black filmmakers, including works from Africa and the Caribbean by such filmmakers as Oscar Micheaux, Camille Billops, Ngozi Onwurah, Spike Lee, Julie Dash, Jon Singleton, and Tsitsi Dangaremba. Students view, analyze and critique films for their artistic and thematic value, while interrogating the politics of production and distribution specific to black filmmaking. Prerequisite: EN 101 and 201 (or EN 107) and CM 150 or permission of the instructor. Junior standing or above.

332 Literature and the Law What is the right relations between people and the laws they enact? Strict obedience? Civil disobedience? Conscientious mobjection? Violent rebellion? Silent subversion? This question and the responses it’s drawn through centuries of human history are the subject matter of this course. Fiction, drama, essays and films have explored how people have grappled with the complex issues arising from the imperfect relationship between an individual and the law. We’ll view films and read fiction and drama that present the theme. Also, students will read essays by literary critics, philosophers, lawyers, judge and psychologists who write about the shared interpretive strategies of literature and law. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

333 Teaching English as a Second Language This introduction to ESL teaching methods provides background in lesson planning, cross-cultural communication, selecting English-as-a-second-language materials, and conducting lessons. It includes field tutoring experience in practicum with adult literacy learners or second-language students.

334 Introduction to Linguistics and Language History This examination of the historical development of the English language and the various approaches to acquisition and use of language includes psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, dialectology, phonology, morphology, schools of grammar, semantics, syntax and stylistics. It surveys contemporary theories, such as speech act theory, concerning the interpretation of language. It does not count as a literature course. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

335 Special Topics in American Literature In this advanced course in American literature, topics vary. Possibilities include Transcendentalism, Race in the Literary Imagination, Literature of the Early 20th Century, the Jewish Novel, Between the World Wars, American Women Poets and others. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

336 Asian Literature This is a historical introduction to the cultural and literary modes of India, China and Japan through the study and discussion of ancient and modern works of Indian, Chinese and Japanese literature, supplemented by some religious and philosophical texts. It includes such works and writers as the Ramayana, the Gita, Gandhi, Tagore; Confucius, Lao-Tse and recent Chinese poetry and fiction; Noh plays, haiku and The Snow Country. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

337 Disaster, Death, and Madness The central objective of this course is to help students to enter imaginatively into the condition of people caught in extremis by disaster, death, and madness—or any combination of the three. The course is an intensely collaborative experience for the student and the instructor. Students give a seminar report on a public disaster that has been researched, review drafts of fellow-students’ work, write an original play, and participate in the production of the “class play.” The three common texts used in the course are John Hersey’s familiar Hiroshima; Kai T. Erikson’s Everything in Its Path; and Norman Maclean’s powerful—and posthumously published—Young Men and Fire. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

341 The Slave Narrative Students in this course read major slave and neo-slave narratives of the 19th and 20th centuries and examine these works from the dual perspectives of social testimony and literary phenomena. Some of the issues addressed include the genre’s evolving response to the conditions of slavery and to the Abolitionist movement, the relation of slave narratives to the rise of realism in American fiction, and the influence of the slave narrative’s form on the evolution of African American fiction. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

342 Ireland in 20th Century Film and Literature This is an intensive study of the myths and realities of 20th century Ireland as represented by seminal works of film and literature. In addition to its examination of the culture of Dublin over the past 100 years, the course guides students through cinematic and literary works, exploring such themes as migration and the myth of the West, colonial and post-colonial political struggles, and the role of women in Irish culture. Prerequisites: Junior standing or above.

343 Writing for Children An intensive writing workshop focused on the production of publishable fiction and nonfiction for the children’s market, the course provides an exploration of the creative process, including invention techniques, drafting, and revision. Plotting, characterization, and the writing of dialogue and description are examined. Students also engage in an in-depth study of the magazine and book publishing markets so they can effectively target their writings to specific publishers. The course includes such practical considerations as the writing of query letters, working with editors and agents, and preparing manuscripts for submission. It does not count as a literature course. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

344 Special Studies Seminar This seminar on advanced topics in literature provides an opportunity for intensive study in areas of special interest. Topics vary. Possibilities include: Modern and Contemporary Fiction; American Women Writers; Cinema of Science Fiction; Women’s Cinema. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above. May be taken more than once for credit when topics vary.

346 Russian Fiction This is survey of Russian fiction, of its themes and narrative techniques, with special emphasis on select works of Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Turgeniev, Babel, Pasternak and Solzhenitsyn. It covers Russian history in outline, from the founding of the Kievan State to the emergence of new Russia. The course approaches individual works as cultural products of their times. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

350 The Short Novel A study of several small masterpieces of fiction. Authors may include Austen, Melville, James, Faulkner, Pynchon, Morrison, Barker and/or others. Advanced course for juniors, seniors and graduate students. Prerequisite: EN199 or an intermediate level literature course.

350 Major Authors Seminar This in-depth study of the significant work of one or more authors focuses on an author’s literary development, as well as the relationship between the author’s life and work. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above. May be taken more than once when topics vary.

351 Jane Austen A study of Austen’s six major novels with attention to the culture of Regency England, the course examines the enduring popularity of Austen’s works and the growing library of film adaptations of the novels. This course may be taught in a traditional classroom format or fully online. Prerequisites: Junior standing or above.

352 Alfred Hitchcock’s American Films This intensive study of the major film works of one of the best 20th century studio directors focuses on the cinema produced in his American period, 1943-63, the course guides students through discussion and analysis of such important films as Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds, examining them both as works of cinematic art and as documents reflecting American culture of mid-century America. Prerequisites: Junior standing or above.

353 Mark Twain In this intensive study of one of America's most famous writers, students read a selection of his novels, stories and essays to get a sense of how complicated a writer he was. The course also views Ken Burns’ documentary. This course may be taught in a traditional classroom format or fully online. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

355 Southern Fiction This exploration of the fiction of the American South focuses on recurring themes in Southern literature. Authors may include Mark Twain, Faulkner, O’Connor, Lee, Warren, Hurston, Wright, Styron, Welty and Jones. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

359 Literature after War This course focuses on literature that expresses the mood of the community in response to war. Most of the texts look at the community in the wake of war, not during it. Thus, the course is not a typical “war literature” course in that it is less focused on what happens on the battlefield than on what happens after the battles are over. Prerequisites: Junior standing or above.360 Contemporary American Autobiography Introducing students to the important genre of the memoir, this course explores how the memoir explicates childhood, alienation in a multicultural land, alternative (and mainstream) sexuality, homelessness, mental illness and aging. Readings include a selection of recent American autobiographies and memoirs. Students may practice writing their own memoirs. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

361 Seminar: Modern Drama This exploration of the styles and techniques of modern theater includes selected British, American and Continental plays by modern dramatists such as Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov, Shaw, Synge, O’Neill, Pirandello, Brecht and Pinter.

362 A Few Great Novels This exploration of the novel as a literary genre that has eluded precise definition focuses on works that represent major stages in the evolution of the genre. Possible authors include Austen, James, Eliot, Joyce, Woolf, Faulkner,Ellison, Pynchon, Morrison and Byatt. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

363 Seminar: Modernism and Postmodernism This is a critical reading of selected texts, both artistic and rhetorical, to explore the differences between modern and postmodern styles, methods and attitudes in the 20th century. It includes such modernist works as Joyce’s Ulysses (selections), Eliot’s The Wasteland, poems by Yeats and Stevens, and Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, as well as essays by Wimsatt and Jung; postmodern works by such poets as W. C. Williams, R. Lowell, Plath, Levertov and Rich; film directors Fellini, Resnais, W. Allen and essays by Altieri, Fish and Barthes. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

364 Seminar: The Lyric This exploration of lyric poetry from the ancient world to the present, with emphasis both on what makes language poetry and on the theory of the lyric form, includes a historical survey of highlights of the English lyric. Students write critical and analytical papers and poetry. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

365 The Contemporary Moment This course seeks to give a student a fresh experience of the literature being produced in our culture here and now. The majority of the texts have appeared in the world very, very recently—texts by living writers who, as creative personalities, make a just claim on both our time and our attention. A number of these writers, among them Jean Valentine, C.K. Williams, Robert Pinsky, and T.C. Boyle, are well-established writers whose reputations are secure. Others are emerging or established writers about whom a student will know little, if indeed anything, at the beginning of the course, but who will afford the student experiences that will be richly worthwhile. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

366 Kerouac and His Sources This study of central works of Jack Kerouac and several key literary sources he drew on includes On the Road, The Dharma Bums, and the poetry collection Mexico City Blues. Influences include others in the Beat Movement such as Allen Ginsberg, Cary Snyder, Diana di Prima; American predecessors such as Ernest Hemingway, Jack London and Walt Whitman; the French Symbolist poets (in translation) Arthur Rimbaud and Charles Baudelaire; and finally the Romantic visionary William Blake. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

368 Tell It Slant: Memoir Writing Workshop The word “memoir” literally means to remember in French, but it has morphed into one of the most popular literary genres today. The course primarily is concerned with carefully crafted literary memoirs. Some questions that will be considered are: What is the difference between memoir and autobiography? What are the ethics involved with writing memoir? What elements (dialogue, scene, description) go into crafting a memoir? How truthful is memoir? How do experienced writers render their memoirs? Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

369 Young Adult and Children’s Writing Workshop (Intermediate Level) This course further develops writing skills and knowledge of the children’s and young adult markets with a concentration on the student’s own work—in-progress. This course differs from the introductory course is several ways: by offering more intensive, full-class peer review; by providing additional technique workshops and one-on-one conferencing; and by being more student-directed via journaling and student-teacher conferencing. The emphasis is on the student’s own writing, as well as on distinct characteristics of the genre. Prerequisite: EN 343/443: Writing for Children, or the equivalent from another institution, or permission from the instructor. Junior standing or above.

371 Career Internship in English The internship is in a supervised professional setting for a minimum of eight hours per week. It includes meetings with other interns and the instructor to analyze and discuss the work experience. It requires a written log and a paper analyzing some aspect of the internship experience as it relates to personal career plans. Interested students must submit a written proposal for an internship before registering for the course. Students also must carry at least 8 additional credits at Arcadia University while enrolled in the internship, unless regularly attending on a part-time basis.

372 Special Studies in Writing In this advanced seminar course in writing, topics vary according to the needs and interests of students and faculty. Possibilities include poetry writing workshop, feature writing, editing, professional writing and critical writing. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

373 Writing for the Law This course focuses on writing forms and style used in legal settings and law school. Reports, forms and briefs, as well as research techniques and information gathering using legal resources, are discussed in full. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above

374 Grant Writing for Non-Profits This course introduces the elements of fundraising through grant proposal writing for nonprofit organizations. Students identify and work with a nonprofit organization to produce a viable grant proposal. In the process, students develop skills in the areas of needs assessment, program development, budgeting, conflict resolution and negotiation, development planning, and discerning organizational strengths and weaknesses. The course also integrates an understanding of the philosophy and practice of philanthropy in the United States. Instructional formats include lecture, group work, writing practice, guest speakers, media analysis, online discussion, and field experience.Prerequisites: Must have at least EN 101 and a research writing-designated (WR) course. Junior standing or above.

375 Fiction Writing Workshop This workshop is limited to undergraduate students of junior and senior standing who wish to further their skills, which must be already well-developed, as writers of fiction. Students critique one another’s works-in-progress, consider works of fiction by professional writers, and participate in intensive, cumulative workshops on the fine points of writing fiction. Each student must complete a body of work that comprises four finished short stories as well as a series of exercises required of all students in the course. Prerequisite: EN 212 or the equivalent; or permission of the instructor, which is based on the submission of a portfolio of stories that gives clear evidence of solid training in fiction writing. Students with no prior formal training in fiction writing are not likely to be admitted. Junior standing or above.

376 Writing for the Web and New Media In the rapidly changing world of business and industry, one thing hasn’t changed—the high demand for professionals who can deliver high quality, strategic copy for a variety of new media formats, including company websites, intranets, and other digital media. This course, which draws on current usability research, explores key differences in print vs. electronic writing, details rhetorical strategies for new media formats, and helps students understand how to integrate visual and written elements. Students analyze, construct and write multimedia text in various assignments, creating a portfolio of electronic writing samples. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

377 Advanced Editing Workshop The course aims to develop understanding of grammar and rhetoric in varied written applications (academic, creative, professional), with particular emphasis on editing techniques for these different types of writing. Workshops focus on appropriate editing styles applied to student work. Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing.

378 Poetry Writing Workshop This course equips students with the fundamental tools needed to write effective poetry and to read poetry intelligently. It emphasizes the craft of poetry in a workshop setting where students’ poems are critiqued, and it includes a careful consideration of the works of accomplished poets, poetic theory, and the rules of prosody. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

381 Modern British Literature and Culture The seminar begins on the Arcadia campus with study of the historical and philosophic backgrounds and the formal features of select modern English texts. Participants then travel to London, with visits to museums, libraries, cathedrals and the English locales of works. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Junior standing or above.

382 Medieval Women Explores the facets of women’s connections to text during the Middle Ages through the lens of feminist literary theory. Women of the Middle Ages were the subject of many writers’ platitudes and chastisements, and secular, religious and pedagogical texts. This course will challenge the modern notion of medieval women as silent and docile and explore the multi-faceted relationship of women and text during the period. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

383 Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer has for decades been known as “The Father of English Literature.” We come to know him through his memorable characters such as the Wife of Bath, and through his comic tales, such as the Miller’s Tale. But Chaucer was a far more prolific and varied writer than most are aware; his works include tales, ecclesiastical handbooks, technical documents, romances, fabliaux, and what scholars have dubbed the first novel. This course will explore both the cultural and theoretical contexts of Chaucer’s many works, including many Canterbury Tales, The Legend of Good Women, and his pinnacle work, Troilus and Criseyde. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

384 Graphic Fiction Adaptations from Literature and Life A study of graphic fiction as a lybrid narrative medium through a deep analysis of its synthesis of the marrative approaches of literary fiction, drama, journalism, and visual arts; and its distinctive blend of visual and verbal languages to produce graphic adpations of print literature (as well as narrative media like film and television). Introduces fundamental narrative and dramatic devices of the two languages and various media; provides a critical vocabulary for interpreting graphic fiction; guides careful textual analysis of important graphic fictions together with their narrative sources. Offers regular opportunities to discuss and interpret fiction in class and in writing, including the creation of graphic fiction works. Prerequisite: Junior standing or above.

385 Humanities Colloquium In this collaborative study of a specific topic from one of the humanities disciplines, topics vary from year to year, alternating among the three areas of concentration within the humanities program. It may be repeated for credit on a different topic.

386 Creative Writing Institute This is an intermediate to advanced course wherein students refine their skills in poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction or a combination of the above. The students and faculty meet in person for one weekend to participate in workshops, lectures and presentations. Then the course continues online for the following four weeks and includes peer-review workshops on Blackboard and one-on-one work with a professor.Prerequisite: EN212 or equivalent. Junior standing or above.

389 Independent Study This is an in-depth study and research on an individual author, genre, or theme, culminating in a substantial paper or project in creative writing. Prerequisites: Junior standing or above, a minimum GPA of 3.0 and permission of the Chair.

490 The Text, the Critic and the World This Capstone course for senior English majors explores contemporary literary theory and cultural criticism. It is in seminar format, with student reports and an individual term project. Prerequisites: Senior standing or permission of the instructor.